JDRF fosters the development and productivity of the best and the brightest established independent researchers who will bridge the gap between the bench and bedside. The primary purpose of the Career Development Award is to attract qualified and promising scientists early in their faculty careers and to give them the opportunity to establish themselves in areas that reflect the JDRF research emphasis areas.

In the five-year term of the award, awardees will focus their research efforts on a subject directly related to JDRF mission goals and research priorities, and position themselves to work at the leading edge of type 1 diabetes research. These awards are designed to assist exceptionally promising investigators. Although JDRF is especially interested in fostering careers in clinical investigation, Career Development Awards may emphasize either basic or clinical topics.

Eligibility

The Career Development Award is intended for individuals in a relatively early stage of their career. Ordinarily, their first degree (MD, PhD, DMD, DVM, or equivalent) will have been received at least three but not more than seven years before the award. The applicant must hold an academic faculty-level position (including assistant professor or equivalent) at the time of the proposal, at a university, health science center, or comparable institution with strong, well-established research and training programs for the chosen area of interest.

There are no citizenship requirements for this program. To assure continued excellence and diversity among applicants and awardees, JDRF welcomes applications from all qualified individuals and encourages proposals from persons with disabilities women and members of minority groups underrepresented in the sciences.

Career Development Award research may be conducted at foreign and domestic, for-profit and nonprofit, and public and private organizations – such as universities, colleges, hospitals, laboratories, units of state and local governments, and eligible agencies of the federal government.

Proposal

Access and submit full applications (including research plans) via RMS360.

Research Plan

The Career Development Award research plan should describe a five-year project. The project should address a specific and substantive question that is relevant to the JDRF mission. The research plan may not exceed 12 pages, including figures and tables, and should include narrative items a through d as described below Proposals with research plans exceeding the page limit will not be considered.

The research plan must be organized as follows: a) Specific Aims; b) Background and Significance of this work to Type 1 Diabetes; c) Preliminary Studies (if applicable); d) Research Design and Methods; e) Literature Cited (no page limit).

At the end of the Research Plan section, the applicant must include a Future Career Plans statement, which is limited to 2 pages. The applicant must include a statement of career goals and indicate the relevance of these goals to type 1 diabetes-related research.

Recommendation References

Three (3) recommendation references assessing the scientific abilities and potential of the applicant must be submitted. Please note that the recommendation references are confidential and will not be released to the applicant. The recommendation references must be submitted directly through RMS360 by the referee. Please note proposals cannot be successfully validated until all references are submitted.

Institutional Assurance

The applicant’s institution must, through the departmental supervisor, provide assurance of an academic commitment to the applicant and to the research project. This Department Head Statement must be included as a Supporting Document and uploaded as a proposal attachment.

Evaluation

Awards will be made on the basis of the applicant’s perceived ability and potential for a career in type 1 diabetes research, the caliber of the proposed research, and the quality and commitment of the institution. The applicant’s professional ability and promise will hold the highest priority in selection and will be assessed on the basis of items such as letters of recommendation, publications, career plans, and prior clinical and research training.

Terms of the Award

The award is up to USD 150,000 per year, including indirect costs. These funds may be used for a research allowance, which can include a technician, supplies, equipment and travel up to USD 2,000 per year. The awards are renewable pending satisfactory progress up to a maximum of four years. Salary for additional research personnel is permitted. Requests for equipment, in years other than the first year, must be strongly justified. Salary requests must be consistent with the established salary structure of the applicant’s institution. Indirect costs (excluding equipment) may not exceed 10% of subtotal direct costs. Please see JDRF’s Grants Policies and Procedures for awarded grants for more details about budget guidelines.

Awardees will be required to provide a progress report at the end of each funding year. Awards are renewable each year for a maximum of four years after submission and approval of a renewal proposal. Awardees must spend at least 75% of time and effort on type 1 diabetes-related research projects during the period of the award.